What is recorded here

Fohernamanagh on Corca Dhuibhne is the most inaccessible settlement on the mainland, a remote valley where St. Brendan is said to have founded a monastery before his legendary sea voyage. Yet three or four families still lived there at the beginning of the 19th century, leaving behind a collapsed dividing wall and a possible hut site whose exact age remains unclear. The place resists easy belief: either the saint truly walked this valley, or ordinary people simply endured its brutality and were forgotten.

Fohernamanagh/Fothair na Manach: The ecclesiastical nature of this settlement (KE025-001001-) is only indirectly suggested by its name and by its traditional association with St. Brendan. He is said both to have founded a monastery here (O'Donoghue 1895, 327-8) and to have sojourned here for a while before embarking on his legendary sea voyage (An Seabhac 1939, 132). Its remote location (it is undoubtedly the most inaccessible settlement on mainland Corca Dhuibhne) also suggests a monastic settlement. However, despite its isolation and the difficulty of access, the valley is reputed to have been occupied at the beginning of the 19th century by 3 or 4 families (Power 1923, 75-6), and it is not clear to what extent the present form of the settlement is attributable to this recent occupation. The collapsed remains of a dividing wall cross the interior of the enclosure (KE025-001001-) SW-NE and an upright slab near its NE end may formerly have defined an entrance. The spread of stone collapse to SE of this may mark the location of a hut site (KE025-001016-). The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 826. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 8 August 2013

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